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Beachel sparks Warrior Run in OT win over Spartans

KAREN VIBERT-KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette Warrior Run’s Ahmahd Keyes shoots around Hughesville’s Devon Braden during Friday’s game at Hughesville.

HUGHESVILLE — Denver Beachel kept Warrior Run in the game when he made four straight first-quarter 3-pointers and scored 14 points.

Late in regulation and overtime, he used his passing to help the Defenders win the game. He also drained three clutch free throws and a young Warrior Run team that has no senior starters showed why it remains mighty tough.

Beachel sparked a late comeback Friday, four players scored in double figures and Warrior Run defeated Hughesville, 64-57 in overtime in a game that resembled a heavyweight title fight. Beachel ignited a 7-2 run over the last 90 seconds of the fourth quarter, dealt the go-ahead assist in overtime and clinched the win at the foul line as the Defenders (2-1, 1-0) won their HAC-III opener.

“This is probably one of my favorite places to play. They have one of the best student sections around and these are the games you always remember,” Beachel said after scoring a game-high 17 points and adding four assists. “These are the games that are the most fun to play.”

These Warrior Run-Hughesville games also have become some of the most fun to watch. Last night was the third straight time in two seasons that these two went to overtime. The home team won each time last year, but the Defenders broke that trend by outscoring Hughesville, 7-0 in overtime. Different Defenders took turns coming up big, with Tyler Pick, Ahmahd Keyes and Kade Anzulavich scoring in double figures and making key plays late.

Beachel, a three-year contributor, is the team’s most experienced player and he was a calming influence when Hughesville took a 55-50 lead with 90 seconds remaining in regulation. He lobbed a pretty assist to Keyes coming out of a timeout and, after Hughesville countered with a Blake Sherwood layup, Warrior Run held it scoreless over the final 5 minutes, 30 seconds. Justus Brady scored off a putback, making a 3-point game, Anzulavich fed Brady, cutting it to 57-56 and Keyes forced overtime, hitting a free throw with 15 seconds left.

Hughesville had a shot at the win, but Warrior Run defended well over the last 15 seconds and forced an off-balance 3-pointer as time expired. Beachel opened overtime with a nifty assist to Tyler Pick and Warrior Run quickly took control. Beachel, Keyes and Braden Bomberger drained five straight foul shots and Hughesville missed all 10 shot attempts as Warrior Run won a game that could serve as a springboard moving forward.

“I had some dumb mistakes but I felt pretty confident and I wanted the ball in my hands. I knew I was going to hit my free throws at the end if they fouled me and I was just looking to make plays,” Beachel said. “We just believed we could pull it off. We came back last year from down 27 (against Hughesville) so we knew we could come back.”

“Denver has logged a lot of minutes since his freshmen year. He’s playing like an upper classman. He learned a lot playing here last year and he’s grown so much this past season,” Warrior Run coach Eric Wertman said. “He played very well. He’s a competitive kid who wants to be on the court all the time.”

That really is the case with all the players on both teams and led to a ferociously-fought game that went back and forth all night. Hughesville led 8-2 less than two minutes into the game, but Beachel put on a shooting clinic, draining 3-pointers like they were layups, keeping Warrior Run within one entering the second quarter. Hughesville led 38-33 at halftime, but the Defenders dominated the third quarter and led six late in the quarter.

Pick played his best scholastic game and was outstanding in the second half, scoring 15 points and grabbing five rebounds. Anzulavich had 11 points and eight rebounds and Keyes finished with 15 points and five rebounds. After Beachel lit it up outside early, those three took control inside. And when Hughesville staged its own comeback and twice took five-point leads late, all the Defenders remained poised and delivered under pressure.

“I just told them to relax when we got behind. There’s so much time left in the game and we just need stops and scores and we’ll be completely fine if you do those things,” Wertman said. “Playing here is like nowhere else. It’s an awesome place to play the game. I told the kids to enjoy this because this is one of the better places we’ll play all year.”

Like Warrior Run, Hughesville is one of the area’s more inexperienced teams. The Spartans have a big upside and that showed at various times. But they also could experience some growing pains and that was evident as well. Hughesville missed several makeable shots late in the game and also endured a 2 for 12 third-quarter after playing so well offensively throughout the first half.

But different players also showed their potential throughout the game and eight players had scored by halftime. Hughesville fought hard and gaining the experience it did last night could provide a boost moving forward.

“I feel bad for them because we compete really hard and you’re not going to find anyone that plays harder than our guys this year,” Hughesville coach Nick Tagliaferri said. “They didn’t feel like we played hard enough last year and they’re angry about it. They’re going to play hard and they will fight you, but we have to make plays.”

Clayton Poust scored a team-high 13 points and Isaiah Savage delivered nine of his 12 during a 20-point first quarter. Blake Sherwood grabbed seven rebounds, Steele Evangelisti was outstanding off the bench and Justus Leighow made three steals.

When Warrior Run had Hughesville on the ropes late in the third quarter, Poust came swinging back. The sophomore point guard converted a 3-point play to close the third then hit a long 3-pointer and scored off a steal, giving Hughesville a 55-50 lead with 90 seconds remaining. All this after enduring first-half foul trouble and missing six straight shots at one point.

“He puts everything on himself with a minor mistake and he picked up a couple fouls and got in a funk, but we had a spirited conversation in the third quarter and he came out of that funk and set a tone for us on both ends,” Tagliaferri said. “He played tremendous.”

Warrior Run 64,

Hughesville 57

WARRIOR RUN (64)

Justus Brady 2 0-0 4, Ahmahd Keyes 4 7-10 15, Kade Anzulavich 4 2-2 11, Tyler Pick 5 5-6 15, Denver Beachel 4 5-6 17, Braden Bomberger 0 1-2 1, Remington Corderman 0 1-2 1, Ethan Hartman 0 0-0 0, Anthony Madilia 0 0-0 0, Curtis Miller 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 21-28 64.

HUGHESVILLE (57)

Isaiah Savage 5 0-0 12, Clayton Poust 5 1-3 13, Devon Braden 1 1-2 3, Justus Leighow 0 5-6 5, Blake Sherwood 2 3-7 7, Steve Millheim 0 0-0 0, Steele Evangelisti 3 0-0 8, Devin Maciejewski 1 1-2 4, Nick Trevouledes 2 0-0 5. Totals 19 12-21 57.

Warrior Run 19 14 14 10 7–64

Hughesville 20 18 6 13 0–57

3-point goals: Warrior Run 5 (Beachel 4, Anzulavich 1), Hughesville 7 (Savage 2, Poust 2, Evangelisti 2, Maciejewski 1).

Records: Warrior Run (2-1, 1-0 HAC-III), Hughesville (1-1, 0-1).

JV score: Hughesville, 66-31.

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